So my brother or as he is hereby known -computergeek- has finally gotten tired of me sleeping on his couch and the bastard is kicking me out. Of course when the dishes start piling up, he'll come crawling back, but for now I need a new place to live.
This is not a new situation for me as I feel like I've been living out a bag for the last five years. My parents moved out my senior year of high school, during which Wendy and I lived alone in our barren apartment - the summer of that year stands out in my mind as one of the worst of my life. My parents had left quite abruptly to new jersey, and the apartment in which I had lived for the past 10 years was suddenly empty of all furniture. Any comfort that I had previously known in that home was suddenly gone and I was left with an odd sense of nostalgia for a place in which I still lived. To top it all off, that summer I had my heart broken for the first time and spent most of my time either crying or working at a horrible summer camp looking after spoiled 5 year olds.
After that I illegally squatted in an assistant living facility for a year, lived in a dorm for two years, and the last year lived out of Flo's place - for which I owe her my right kidney. All in all I have a pretty hazy definition of home, I don't really feel truly comfortable in any one place and I almost always have everything that I need to survive in my bag. On the one hand I'm low maintenance and will never understand the point of interior design. (that's a good thing) On the other hand, I never really feel like I belong in any place or to any place and instead am forced to wander between apartments in which I never fully feel welcome. Also, although I've been a nomad for so long, surprisingly I still feel claustrophobic, probably because I constantly have to be on my best behavior as any indiscretion may cost me a home.
I think that one of the reasons I want to go out of state for my doctorate is to create a place of my own, even if it's a tiny tiny room, I want to have the privilege of closing a door on the rest of the world.
But for now, I think I may have scored myself a place for the next few months. My parents have a 2-bedroom basement apartment in their house that's pretty big. A friend of mine, whom I've known for most of my life just moved in last week. I spoke to him yesterday and he agreed to let me have the smaller room for 200 a month. He's very chill and I don't think that we'll have a problem rooming together, but of course we'll see.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Conversation with neighboring lady at work
Her: By the way, I hope that you don't mind that I don't chat with you during the day. It's not that I don't like you.
Me: Um, ok
Her: It's just that you are new here
Me: Um, ok
Her: And well I happen to know that your boss doesn't like it when his assistant talks to people or makes friends around the office.
Me: Oh
What have I done to myself.
Me: Um, ok
Her: It's just that you are new here
Me: Um, ok
Her: And well I happen to know that your boss doesn't like it when his assistant talks to people or makes friends around the office.
Me: Oh
What have I done to myself.
this blows
Why do I come in to work every morning at 930, forcing myself to wake up and rob myself of any last remnants of sleep - when my boss consistently comes in after 11. Wtf?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Gay Marriage Rights and why Flo is one lucky bitch to be moving to Berkeley
Sexual orientation is now a "suspect classification" under the the California equal protection clause as decided by the In Re Marriage Cases providing marriage rights to all people -heterosexual or homosexual. Which means that it will be subject to the highest level of scrutiny - strict scrutiny!!!! At a time when the Supreme Court only recognizes race, religion, and national origin as suspect classifications - this is a huge deal. It may still take a while to even consider sex orientation as a suspect classification under federal law because of the strict characteristics of such a classification. Suspect groups must have "immutable" characteristics, share a history of discrimination, and be a politically impotent and insular minority. These requirements are so strident that not even "sex" has been placed alongside race, religion, and national origin -instead it is left to wander alone in the purgatory that is "intermediate scrutiny", not really strict scrutiny and not really rational basis.
Oh well - this is still a huge step for gay rights and a fantastic new application of equal protection rights. Flo, I know that moving is sad, but at least you can have the satisfaction of knowing that your new state is number 1 on human rights - unlike any satisfaction you would have gotten if you had gone to Texas instead!
Oh well - this is still a huge step for gay rights and a fantastic new application of equal protection rights. Flo, I know that moving is sad, but at least you can have the satisfaction of knowing that your new state is number 1 on human rights - unlike any satisfaction you would have gotten if you had gone to Texas instead!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Updates
Gemma - Roman's annoying, creepy, bitchy roommate - tried to yell at me for using the bathroom. I am tired of letting her yell at me without yelling back, so I ignored her and walked into Roman's room. As I did so, she shouted "Fuck you!" at me. Then, they sent Roman an email - while we were both in his room - telling him to not let me come back here until he moves out. They tell him this every once in a while, and he always says no and everything is fine until they yell at me again.
But this time: this time I am angry. The woman curses at me, yells "fuck you" at me... I wanted nothing more than to open the door and slap the shit out of her. But Roman just shrugs his shoulders and says he's sorry. I don't want him to be sorry. If he doesn't want to yell at them, I want to be able to yell at them, to defend myself. Ugh.
On a much, much happier note: my Uncle Mike is officially giving me $5400, which will be money for the roadtrip and to pay for my new car (!). The condition is that in the fall, I start taking over my mother's monthly $150 payments. I think this is more than reasonable, and actually incredibly nice of him. Then, this morning, he also told me that he and my Aunt Peg are going to buy a new laptop for me.
No one has ever gotten me a present like that, one that I need for the next stage of my life, one that I could afford on my own, but that will save me a buttload of money and will be much higher quality coming from them. I was so touched... I've been weepy all day because of it. Of course, I am leaving my home city for at least three years in less than three weeks, and so I've been rather emotional in general lately. But yeah - family is kind of awesome, sometimes.
But this time: this time I am angry. The woman curses at me, yells "fuck you" at me... I wanted nothing more than to open the door and slap the shit out of her. But Roman just shrugs his shoulders and says he's sorry. I don't want him to be sorry. If he doesn't want to yell at them, I want to be able to yell at them, to defend myself. Ugh.
On a much, much happier note: my Uncle Mike is officially giving me $5400, which will be money for the roadtrip and to pay for my new car (!). The condition is that in the fall, I start taking over my mother's monthly $150 payments. I think this is more than reasonable, and actually incredibly nice of him. Then, this morning, he also told me that he and my Aunt Peg are going to buy a new laptop for me.
No one has ever gotten me a present like that, one that I need for the next stage of my life, one that I could afford on my own, but that will save me a buttload of money and will be much higher quality coming from them. I was so touched... I've been weepy all day because of it. Of course, I am leaving my home city for at least three years in less than three weeks, and so I've been rather emotional in general lately. But yeah - family is kind of awesome, sometimes.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Paradise
So, to fulfill the purpose of this blog, I will now fill you in on my trip to Grenada that I haven't had time to tell you about.
Grenada was wonderful. It was utterly the perfect vacation. We stayed with Sydney, and his dorm was quite literally on the beach - you'd walk out the door onto sand. The water was warm, and clear - you could see your feet underneath you as you walked.
Our first day, we went to a waterfall. We took the local buses - which are minivans that travel everywhere in the city, and squeeze people in on top of one another - to the mountain that held the waterfall. We got out, and the bus driver told us to walk 20 minutes up. That translated into 45 minutes of steep uphill walking, alongside the most vibrantly colored vistas I'd ever seen. We asked a couple locals how much further to the waterfall, and the answer was always the same: 20 minutes. 20 minutes. 20 minutes. At one point we asked a man leading a goat down the hill, carrying a machete in his other hand. I've never seen a machete in real life before. Pretty cool.
Eventually we made it to the waterfall, which looked disappointingly small. But we started swimming in it, and quickly realized that it was, in fact, totally awesome! The water was cold, but deep. There was a cliff overlooking the water - about 10 feet high. This doesn't sound very tall, but at the top of it I freaked out. I sat for about 15 minutes before I worked up the courage to jump. A good lesson: things never seem so tall until you're the one at the top.
The second day we sat on the beach all. day. I played with a little girl who was very bossy! When I wanted to go swimming with Sydney and Roman, she yelled at me and told me to come back to the sand and play with her. Adorable. That evening Shakera arrived, and Roman and I got to witness the sweetest reunion. Sydney played down his anxiousness to see Shakera, but they had been apart 10 weeks and when she walked through the gates, they ran into each others arms and hugged and kissed for 5 minutes. It was completely adorable.
The third day, we went snorkeling! I've never done that before, but I took to it pretty well. That is - I became proficient quickly. I absolutely loved doing it. I have never seen anything like underwater life, but the colors and activity were mindblowing. Roman and I swam along, held hands, and pointed out the prettiest sites to each other. Very, very romantic.
This entire time, in the evening we would sneak into hotels on the beach, drink at the bars, eat at the restaurants. After snorkeling, we went to one in particular that had a jacuzzi, and we ordered cocktails and sipped them while we soaked. I felt very sophisticated. I had, for the first time, a sex on the beach, which is vodka, peach schnapps, grapefruit and orange juice. It is also delicious.
It was so sad when we left! This was possibly the most restful, calming, exciting, perfect vacation I've ever been on. I highly recommend Grenada for all your future travel destinations.
Grenada was wonderful. It was utterly the perfect vacation. We stayed with Sydney, and his dorm was quite literally on the beach - you'd walk out the door onto sand. The water was warm, and clear - you could see your feet underneath you as you walked.
Our first day, we went to a waterfall. We took the local buses - which are minivans that travel everywhere in the city, and squeeze people in on top of one another - to the mountain that held the waterfall. We got out, and the bus driver told us to walk 20 minutes up. That translated into 45 minutes of steep uphill walking, alongside the most vibrantly colored vistas I'd ever seen. We asked a couple locals how much further to the waterfall, and the answer was always the same: 20 minutes. 20 minutes. 20 minutes. At one point we asked a man leading a goat down the hill, carrying a machete in his other hand. I've never seen a machete in real life before. Pretty cool.
Eventually we made it to the waterfall, which looked disappointingly small. But we started swimming in it, and quickly realized that it was, in fact, totally awesome! The water was cold, but deep. There was a cliff overlooking the water - about 10 feet high. This doesn't sound very tall, but at the top of it I freaked out. I sat for about 15 minutes before I worked up the courage to jump. A good lesson: things never seem so tall until you're the one at the top.
The second day we sat on the beach all. day. I played with a little girl who was very bossy! When I wanted to go swimming with Sydney and Roman, she yelled at me and told me to come back to the sand and play with her. Adorable. That evening Shakera arrived, and Roman and I got to witness the sweetest reunion. Sydney played down his anxiousness to see Shakera, but they had been apart 10 weeks and when she walked through the gates, they ran into each others arms and hugged and kissed for 5 minutes. It was completely adorable.
The third day, we went snorkeling! I've never done that before, but I took to it pretty well. That is - I became proficient quickly. I absolutely loved doing it. I have never seen anything like underwater life, but the colors and activity were mindblowing. Roman and I swam along, held hands, and pointed out the prettiest sites to each other. Very, very romantic.
This entire time, in the evening we would sneak into hotels on the beach, drink at the bars, eat at the restaurants. After snorkeling, we went to one in particular that had a jacuzzi, and we ordered cocktails and sipped them while we soaked. I felt very sophisticated. I had, for the first time, a sex on the beach, which is vodka, peach schnapps, grapefruit and orange juice. It is also delicious.
It was so sad when we left! This was possibly the most restful, calming, exciting, perfect vacation I've ever been on. I highly recommend Grenada for all your future travel destinations.
What Women Want
This makes me incredibly happy and proud.
After the Rwandan genocide, 60% of the population left over is female. These women are now taking over economically, starting small businesses and making use of the microlending options open to them. "Women are running coffee plantations and graining mills, and often, they're outearning their male counterparts."
... But women aren't just thriving as money managers in Rwanda; women hold 48% of seats in the Rwandan parliament, which, according to the WaPo, is the highest percentage in the world. And it's not like Rwanda is an anomaly. The World Bank says that "in India's great economic transformation of the past 15 years, states that have the highest percentage of women in the labor force have grown the fastest as well as had the largest reductions in poverty."
And not for the reasons you'd think. Not because women are more maternal, more family-oriented. But rather, as one entrepreneur explains: "They say that women care more about the family, but I do not know if that is true...I think it has more to do with the self-control woman show in hard times. We know how to survive when men despair."
The very misogyny that keeps women in the background gives them the ability to succeed where men fail. That is encouraging, indeed.
After the Rwandan genocide, 60% of the population left over is female. These women are now taking over economically, starting small businesses and making use of the microlending options open to them. "Women are running coffee plantations and graining mills, and often, they're outearning their male counterparts."
... But women aren't just thriving as money managers in Rwanda; women hold 48% of seats in the Rwandan parliament, which, according to the WaPo, is the highest percentage in the world. And it's not like Rwanda is an anomaly. The World Bank says that "in India's great economic transformation of the past 15 years, states that have the highest percentage of women in the labor force have grown the fastest as well as had the largest reductions in poverty."
And not for the reasons you'd think. Not because women are more maternal, more family-oriented. But rather, as one entrepreneur explains: "They say that women care more about the family, but I do not know if that is true...I think it has more to do with the self-control woman show in hard times. We know how to survive when men despair."
The very misogyny that keeps women in the background gives them the ability to succeed where men fail. That is encouraging, indeed.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Getting an F in history
What does it say about me that I consistently confuse Gordon Liddy with Scooter Libby?
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Stress and Sodomy
The next few weeks are going to be incredibly busy and stressful. I have to have 50 pages of my independent study finished by the 14Th, keep up with the work for my women's studies class - papers and all, work three days a week, study for the stupid LSAT even though I'm not going to law school, and in the midst of it all somehow find time to sleep. However, in spite of everything, I'm also really excited about the upcoming weeks. My awesome professor is giving me an amazing opportunity and letting me present a guest lecture in his Women and Politics class this tuesday. They're starting a section on the law and I'll be discussing the two sodomy/privacy rights cases: Bowers v. Hardwick and Lawrence v. Texas. I had a meeting with my prof today and he was completely nonchalant as to how I'm to handle the entire thing. He is basically giving me the keys to the car so to speak and telling me to ride with the wind - OK I can't drive so that metaphor didn't really work out, but you get my drift. Other than gearing my discussion towards the privacy and legal issues within gay marriage (the next topic) I have full reign. As I was sitting in his office today, I almost wanted him to give me some stringent guidelines - at least that way I would have an outline to follow. I know that I'm just nervous and that letting me prepare a lecture in my own style is great practice for the future, but I still fully expect to stutter through the whole thing, confuse Justice Scalia with Ginsberg, and then throw up on the floor. Ah well, how hard can talking about anal sex with horny college students be really. Yeah, it's going to be REALLY fun summarizing the facts of these two case.
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